With 0.7 on the clock and the Sacramento Kings trailing the Washington Wizards by three, Brad Miller threw a splendid 80-foot pass to John Salmons. Salmons made the catch, moved his right foot behind the 3-point arc and fired. Good! The Kings rushed onto the floor in wild celebration.
But the officials ruled it a 2-point basket, setting up the real moment of drama: the video review.
It turned the call was doubly wrong. The replay showed the basket was a 3-pointer, but the rectangle of lights around the basket that signal the end of the game turned red while Salmons still had the slightest of contact with the ball at the end of his release.
No basket. The Wizards win, 109-106.
"I was thinking we were going to overtime, then they just called the game," Salmons said. "The time was close. You couldn't really tell one way or the other. I don't know if it's the right thing to call the game or not, but they called it. ... Any time you lose on a controversial call, it's tough because you feel like they took it out of your hands."
It was a fitting end to a wild Thursday night game that featured a first-half duel between Gilbert Arenas and Ron Artest, a second-half duel between Caron Butler and Mike Bibby, a blown 17-point fourth-quarter lead by the Wizards and 47 combined turnovers.
Artest had 21 of his 32 points by halftime, while 22 of Bibby's 30 came after the break. Artest was disappointed that he took only five shots in the second half.
"I tried to do a little bit more, but Coach just stopped going to me," Artest said.
Tick... tick... tick...
But the officials ruled it a 2-point basket, setting up the real moment of drama: the video review.
It turned the call was doubly wrong. The replay showed the basket was a 3-pointer, but the rectangle of lights around the basket that signal the end of the game turned red while Salmons still had the slightest of contact with the ball at the end of his release.
No basket. The Wizards win, 109-106.
"I was thinking we were going to overtime, then they just called the game," Salmons said. "The time was close. You couldn't really tell one way or the other. I don't know if it's the right thing to call the game or not, but they called it. ... Any time you lose on a controversial call, it's tough because you feel like they took it out of your hands."
It was a fitting end to a wild Thursday night game that featured a first-half duel between Gilbert Arenas and Ron Artest, a second-half duel between Caron Butler and Mike Bibby, a blown 17-point fourth-quarter lead by the Wizards and 47 combined turnovers.
Artest had 21 of his 32 points by halftime, while 22 of Bibby's 30 came after the break. Artest was disappointed that he took only five shots in the second half.
"I tried to do a little bit more, but Coach just stopped going to me," Artest said.
Tick... tick... tick...
